Education Resources

Welcome to the Heart of the Civil War's Education Portal for teachers and students!

Check back often as we develop resources for teaching and learning about the rich Civil War history in the Heritage Area. Teachers, be sure to follow us on Pinterest for links to curricular materials. 

Suggested Resources for Research in the Heart of the Civil War

  • Crossroads of War: This website, developed by the Catoctin Center for Regional Studies at Frederick Community College, contains many resources on the Civil War in the border state of Maryland. You can access scanned primary source documents, historic images, and photographs of artifacts. There are also three databases available to researchers: historic newspapers, Civil War soldiers, and letters, diaries and memoirs. The site also contains narrative essays (with footnotes) on different themes related to the Civil War.
  • Maryland's Heart of the Civil War documentary and companion app: this hour-long documentary takes a close look at the impact that the Civil War had in Maryland's Carroll, Frederick, and Washington Counties. The film includes interviews with experts and quotes from primary sources. The 350-page companion app offers additional information that couldn't be included in the Maryland Public Television film. 
  • Maryland Room: This center for local history is located in downtown Frederick's C. Burr Artz Library, part of Frederick County Public Libraries. These primary and secondary sources cover economic, social, political, cultural, and religious history as it relates to Frederick County, the genealogy of Maryland's peoples, and the Civil War.
  • Historical Society of Carroll County: For research on topics related to Carroll County and the area, be sure to stop at the HSCC in Westminster. Researchers will find historic newspapers: The Democratic Advocate (1842-1972), The Carrolltonian (1833-1844), Union Bridge Pilot (1899-1972), American Sentinel (1855-1928) and Carroll County Times (1911-1973). Unique collections include the Dr. Arthur Tracey Papers (which includes drawings, surveyors' books, maps and file cards for eighteenth century Western Maryland land tracts and families) and the Basil Crapster papers (which chronicle Taneytown history).
  • Historical Society of Frederick County: Letters, diaries, Civil War records, maps, family histories, photographs, and books on local subjects are all available for use by researchers. The rich manuscript collection includes documents of the Potomac Home Brigade, business records, and diaries and the papers of a few notable local families. A large and growing collection of photographic images also is available.
  • Washington County Historical Society: Washington County topics are well-covered in the recently renovated Jamieson Genealogy Library. Research materials include, but are not limited to: family files; local history books; church records; census records; newspaper clippings; cemetery records; photographs; and early documents.
  • Eyewitness Burkittsville: This digital repository of the South Mountain Heritage Society in Burkittsville includes digitized primary source documents related to the 1862 Battle of South Mountain, the town's industrial history of tanning and distilling, as well as church records and other correspondence from citizens.
  • Middletown Valley Historical Society: Researchers can gain insights into 19th century Middletown, Maryland, through the diary of Allen Sparrow (1810-1896). This 1,000 page diary spanning 1859 to 1896 contains his daily observations including dates of deaths of residents, important events that occurred, as well as his personal recollections of life in the Middletown Valley. 
  • National Museum of Civil War Medicine: The research center at this Frederick museum includes materials on many aspects of Civil War medicine, including surgeons, nurses, patients, medicines, diseases, and hospitals. 
  • Daughters of Charity Provincial Archives

Suggested Topics for National History Day 2016: Exploration, Encounter & Exchange

  • Exploring the Landscape's Role in History: Why did Civil War Battles Happen Where they Did?
  • An Encounter that Changed History: Finding Special Orders 191
  • Economic Reconstruction: Exchanging Confederate Currency
  • What did Civil War Soldiers Encounter When they Returned Home from War?
  • The Exchange of Political Power during Reconstruction
  • Exploring Civil War Cartology: How Maps Shaped Military Strategy
  • Encounters with Death: Did Civil War Soldiers Experience Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder?
  • An Exchange of Infection: Sanitary Conditions in Civil War Military Encampments
  • Exchanging Letters, Identifying Loved Ones: Clara Barton's Work with Missing Soldiers